10 Types of Employee Training

No matter the type or size of an organization, employee training is essential. Training programs enhance a workforce’s skills and help them work more productively and efficiently. Employers conduct various types of training, which depends on their requirements, availability of resources, and the urgency of their needs.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to training. Each method is suited for different purposes. However, you must use the right kind of training at the right time as this will be more engaging for your team and result in better business outcomes. Here we will explore the most popular types of employee training to help you find one suitable for your company.

Leadership Training

Leadership training is a type of soft skill training that concentrates on interpersonal abilities. However, this training has an emphasis on leadership skills and qualities that influence leading others. While leadership training helps employees enhance their foundational skills, communication skills, strategy, project management, and most importantly, leadership itself. Other skills you can learn in leadership training include crisis management and a technical understanding of how to use management specific tools or software.

Leadership training is valuable to implement for employees who are on the path to becoming a manager within the business, or if they’ve been promoted to a leadership role recently. If you are conducting individual meetings with your team, it’s wise to ask them about their career ambitions. Should you find someone interested in seeking a leadership role, you can discuss whether leadership training is suitable at that time. If it’s time to run a leadership training program, you may wish to hire an external coach who can come into your business and hold group and individual sessions with trainees. Many employees strive to work up the ladder, so ensure there are opportunities for progression, otherwise, they may find alternative employment if there is no chance to seek leadership roles within the business. 

Compliance Training

By definition, compliance training is a form of training that every employee should take. Compliance training should factor in all the information employees require to make sure the business runs smoothly and efficiently. The content in compliance training can vary significantly, depending on the type of company you run. For instance, a tech startup and a medical organization require completely different conditions due to their profession. 

You should implement compliance training into the workplace if you need to update information relating to business-wide technical policies or issues. If there’s something every team member needs to know, it’s time to run a compliance training program. This can serve as an opportunity to discuss any issues threatening the businesses’ ability to function, both legally and efficiently. If your business has specific rules, such as using a certain printer or locking up the office at the end of the working day, these points should be covered in a compliance training program. 

If you are not sure what to cover in a compliance training program, it’s best to talk to your employees. Ask them what their biggest struggles are in their role and what information they wish they had known sooner. If you find there is a common theme that is being brought up repeatedly; this can be factored into your compliance training program. 

Onboarding Training

Onboarding training covers every aspect essential to an employee starting at your business. While onboarding training shares similarities with compliance training, the former is tailored specifically around the new employee experience. This training program should cover the essentials every new employee needs to know. These include an introduction to software or tools, support resources, and communication practices. Onboarding training must include who new employees can speak to about certain problems and if a piece of software or knowledge is mandatory for an employee’s first week at your business.

Although onboarding training should cover the essentials, this kind of program shouldn’t be too overwhelming. Only cover what new team members need to know when getting started. Should you load a new employee with too much information, they may panic and not feel comfortable within the organization. 

Also, make sure you include resources in your onboarding training program that employees can refer back to later. You may wish to create a company wiki or something along these lines. This can help keep internal information in one place, so you and employees can access it as and when required. 

Technical Training

Technical training programs are designed to explain how to use technology or tools at your business. This program can show employees how to use a certain device or piece of software. Depending on how complex the software or tools are, the more you may need to explain. Therefore, the duration of a technical training program can vary. 

You should only assign a technical training program to employees who need to learn it. For example, there is no need in training a receptionist about how to use a conveyor system, when they will never use it in their day-to-day duties. Also, technical training programs don’t have to be mandatory. You shouldn’t feed team members with irrelevant information if it’s not required. This could prove overwhelming and hinder productivity within the workplace. 

Product Training

Product training encompasses any products or services you provide, while fleetingly touching on the selling points of both. This training program is typically designed for customer service representatives, salespeople, and any employees working on the product team. Product training programs teach workforces about the features of every product or service. Product training differs slightly from technical training in the sense that employees are not taught only how to use the product. Instead, team members learn about the unique selling proposition of every product provided by the business.

Product training normally covers the specifics of each product. This can include its warranty, features, and frequently asked questions. The main purpose of product training is to make sure employees understand what the business provides, both internally and in customer-facing purposes. However, product training is not a direct replacement for sales training. This is because the focus is not on selling products. 

Sales Training

Sales training shares similarities to product training. However, it does go one step further by concentrating on the selling points of a product, rather than just the details. Sales training programs focus on how an employee can effectively advocate for a product, as well as navigate challenging customer questions. The end goal is for sales training programs to equip your team with the skills and knowledge needed to actively market, promote, and sell a product. 

Most sales training programs utilize role-playing, which helps employees see and learn firsthand how to sell a product or service. This can include employees pretending to be a salesperson who is engaging with a customer, going back and forth with questions and answers. Sales training is wise to invest in. For one, it can help your business stay competitive. Secondly, sales training empowers the entire team, provides better support for customers, and most importantly of all, helps you win business. Sales training produces strong salespeople who will continue delivering ongoing value for your company and help your client base grow.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training

Diversity, equity, and inclusion training teach employees how to respectfully work with and around individuals from different backgrounds. While diversity, equity, and inclusion training is a type of soft skill, it’s nuanced enough to have its own category. This training program enables employees to understand the types of backgrounds people come from, as well as how to show politeness and respect. A diversity, equity, and inclusion training program may cover how to advocate for employees around you, and how to tackle workplace harassment. This training program can also teach you how to become an ally for those who face prejudice. St Bonaventure University also explains the importance of DEI in the workplace and how the program can benefit every employee.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion training programs typically use a scenario to show how certain words and behaviors can be offensive to individuals of different backgrounds, as well as how these situations could be handled better. To ensure employees are listening and taking on board what is being said, diversity, equity, and inclusion training should include interactive quizzes. Diversity training is one of the most important of all, as it’s designed and implemented to create a safe, healthy work environment for people of all ethnicities, religions, sexualities, and disabilities. 

Soft Skills Training

For an employee to perform their job successfully, they need to be armed with a variety of soft skills. Therefore, implementing a soft skills training program into the workplace is essential. These are a broad range of traits that enable employees to communicate effectively with one another and collaborate on projects and tasks. Soft skills training programs help your company build a reputable culture and enhance work relationships.

Soft skills training programs can cover numerous topics. Some of the most common include adaptability, teamwork, communication, listening, and public speaking. While many of your employees should already have these skills in the first place, this training program can go one step further and help build on their skills. Other soft skills employees will learn and master in this training program include time management, problem-solving, and presentation. You need to ensure you’re tracking your employee’s progress through a soft skills training program so you can be confident they have the attributes needed to fulfill their roles correctly. 

Health and Safety Training

If you have a land-based business, incorporating health and safety training into your regime is vital. This is a mandatory training program, as employees need to be aware of any risks or hazards that could jeopardize their safety. It’s your responsibility to create a safe and secure environment so employees can feel comfortable at work and perform to the best of their ability. You should ensure the correct protocols are in place and every staff member undertakes health and safety training, both at the beginning of their career and throughout their time at the business.

There are many aspects of health and safety training. For example, if you run a construction firm, there may be machinery and tools that employees must use to perform their jobs correctly. Understandably, such tools can be highly dangerous to operate. Therefore, employees must have the relevant training on how to use equipment safely and correctly before use. If you operate in an office environment, there may be wires on the carpet that need to be organized and taped down to avoid any slip and falls at work. All these issues should be covered in health and safety training, which will help keep everyone safe and healthy throughout the working day.

Team Training

In many businesses, employees must come together and work as part of a team. Whether it’s on a mammoth project or a small task, everyone needs to do their bit to ensure duties are carried out correctly and according to plan. This is where team training programs come into the equation. The purpose of this training program is to help your team build stronger relationships with each other. This helps everyone work together cohesively. It will also empower employees and improve how they solve problems and make decisions. 

Effective teamwork can be the difference between a successful business and failure, so it’s wise to have a training program in place that can bring employees together. As your team gets to know one another, this can not only enhance relationships but build confidence. When your workforce can operate well together, this will increase productivity levels too. While the main focus will be on team training, make sure you hold individual meetings with staff members so you can track progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and ensure everyone is pulling their weight and contributing to team efforts. 

Whether you’re an employee or the employer, training programs are mandatory for company growth and success. Workplace training helps employees broaden their skillset to perform their duties correctly while contributing to the business. 

In some instances, training courses get a bad reputation for being unnecessary or boring. Therefore, you need to pick programs that will benefit the business and be worthwhile for employees.